Aalto Inn

It's a nice, green spot on the Aalto University campus, with good public transport and accommodation that works well for a longer stay. The lack of reception service after XX in b the evening is a problem, though. For example, it's hard to get a guest parking permit in the evening or at night.

The rooms are nice, and the location is handy for visiting Aalto University. Each one has an almost full kitchen, with a shared oven on every floor. I stayed for two weeks, and getting in touch with staff was difficult, especially without a Finnish phone. Email is the only option. They do reply, usually, but it can take a while. A lobby phone that connects to a person would help.

I spent three months at Aalto Inn, and the seaside setting has lovely views and places to walk. The metro and Aalto University are both a 5 - 10 minute walk away, and Helsinki's city center is about 20 minutes away. My room had what I needed, including a kitchen, bathroom and TV. There's no oven in the room, but each floor has one in its shared lobby. Laundry is free, and there's a city-bike station by the main entrance. There's no reception or staff on site, which made check-in a bit difficult. I helped a few people who were having trouble with it. If you leave your keys in the room, you'll have to call someone to come and let you in.

The price was reasonable, especially compared with a regular hotel, and now that we know what to expect, we'd come back. The 42 sq meter apartment was spacious, with a kitchen area, utensils, a closet and a living area. The setting on Aalto University's lovely Espoo campus was nice too. There was no soap in the bathroom when we arrived. The liquid soap they brought after we asked was barely any use. They should have told us in advance so we could bring our own. It took us a couple of days to get used to there being no reception counter, but after that it was fine.